New Canaan rolls past Ludlowe

Published 11:08 pm, Friday, October 2, 2009

FAIRFIELD -- Lou Marinelli has been cautioning his players about complacency after a pair of season-opening routs.

Friday night they were given an inexpensive lesson.

The New Canaan High School football team had an otherwise dominant offensive performance marred by a few letdowns in a 35-19 victory at Fairfield Ludlowe.

"I think this was a tremendous learning experience," Marinelli said after his team improved to 3-0. "Give Ludlowe a lot of credit. I think the kids may be reading the newspapers too much and think that the other team is just going to lay down and die."

Quarterbacks Willie Ouellette and Turner Baty again turned in strong performances, and Tim Robustelli rushed for three touchdowns. The Rams' best player was Cody Newton, who had 10 receptions for 127 yards.

But two other drives resulted in long interception returns for scores by the Falcons (0-3).

"We've got to straighten ourselves out here," Marinelli said. "I don't know if it was a flat night or what the deal was. It didn't feel right. We have to go back and look at what we're doing."

Still, there was only some brief drama. That came with the Rams ahead 21-0 and looking to add to their lead on the opening possession of the second half. Tom Nagy stepped in front of a pass by Ouellette and returned it 90 yards to make it 21-6.

The Falcons got the ball back four plays later, when they recovered a fumble by Kevin Macari following a reception, though Macari never appeared to have possession. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the New Canaan bench put Ludlowe at the Rams' 20.

New Canaan's defense stiffened, and Ouellette led the team on a decisive eight-play, 85-yard drive, which included three completions to Newton, the last a 5-yard score with 1:14 left in the third quarter that gave the Rams a 28-6 lead.

"We weren't on the top of our game there, but we hung together and picked each other up," Robustelli said. "Those plays happen. The turnovers were definitely a big wakeup call."

Robustelli, who carried the ball 12 times for 65 yards, scored on a pair of short runs to give New Canaan a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

"We can run the ball if we need to," Robustelli said. "On all three of my touchdowns we moved the ball through the air. It's good to have options."

Baty's 5-yard touchdown pass right before halftime gave the Rams a 21-0 advantage.

Ouellette and Baty were again sharp. Ouellette completed 11 of 18 passes for 168 yards. Baty was 10 of 13 for 119 yards.

"We're blessed to have two quarterbacks like that," Marinelli said.

Both players got on the field together for a few plays on the final series before the half, with Ouellette making a nice move to turn a short reception into a 41-yard play.

A 46-yard punt return by Robustelli early in the fourth quarter resulted in him scoring on another 1-yard run to make it 35-6.

The next time New Canaan got the ball, third-string quarterback Matthew Milano quickly moved the team down to the Falcons' 10.

On the next play, he was picked off by Nate Ryan, who returned the ball 99 yards for a touchdown.

Ryan's 37-yard reception with six seconds remaining closed out the scoring.

"The one good thing for us was they had us on the ropes at one point and our kids held them and came back," Marinelli said."